Cann tragedy spurs visit from parents' rights group

Norton - If you drove through the
center of town Thursday, night Sept. 6, you may have seen a candlelit vigil
gathering and an enormous purple and white bus parked near the Norton post
office.

The bus, driven by Larry Kerkman,
president of Children's Rights Initiative for Sharing Parents Equally (CRISPE),
is on a national tour that began in San Diego, California June 6, and will
continue, Kerkman says, until he runs out of funds.

CRISPE is a non-profit organization
hoping to ensure that all 50 states adopt the policy of Iowa, which is 50/50,
shared parenting for divorced parents.

"I have rallied with a hundred
different kinds of organizations with one thing in common," said Kerkman. "We
all want shared parenting because
that is what is best for our children."

Kerman, who said he only goes where he
is invited, and where at least 12 people will rally for a cause, said he came to
Norton at the invitation of the Fatherhood Coalition and the Fathers for
Justice.

Earl Sholley, the media contact for the
Fatherhood Coalition says the group decided to rally in Norton after the Aug 27
murder of Elizabeth Cann by Cann's former boyfriend. Two of Cann's three
daughters, Brittany and Danielle, were critically injured in the attack and
remain hospitalized. The girl's father, Wayne Cann attempted to obtain custody
of the girls at one point, but did not feel he could gain custody, so he
abandoned the effort, according Sholley.

"Next to death, divorce is probably the
worst thing that anyone can got through," said Sholley.

Sholley said Massachusetts has the most
restrictive laws for divorced fathers and his group seeks to change the family
court system by promoting mandated mediation that may reconcile parents and
protect children.

The Southeastern Massachusetts chapter
of the Fatherhood coalition meets at the Boyden Public Library in Foxboro on the
first
Tuesday of each month from 6:30 to 9p.m. The group is open to all.